Irvine's dance card remains a big blank

The Anteaters have been trying to crack the NCAA Tournament for 36 years of Division I basketball.

Pacific barred the door Saturday night at Honda Center, winning the Big West Tournament title game, 64-55, over UCI before 6,795 to extend the career of Tigers coach Bob Thomason, who is retiring after 25 seasons at the helm in Stockton.

"I thought we fought, we were fearless, and yet, Pacific made more plays than we did, and they should get credit," UCI coach Russell Turner said. "They were very physical with us. We didn't make many jumpers, and our ability to score in the paint came up short."

The Anteaters, who all but shot themselves out of the game in the first half (25.9 percent), mounted a determined comeback after intermission, led by senior guard Daman Starring, who scored 15 of his 19 in the second, and junior Chris McNealy, who put in 10 of his 12 after halftime.

But, after cutting a 13-point deficit to 49-45 with 8:40 left, UCI could not get over the hump – mostly because of the huge contributions by the Tigers' bench. Thomason's reserves outscored the Anteaters bench, 31-2.

Forward Tony Gill, a sweet-shooting 6-8 junior from Roseville, scored 19 points in a reserve role and was voted tournament MVP. Tigers senior guard Lorenzo McCloud ran an offense that made just seven turnovers, and he had 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

"I just came in tonight with the right mindset," said Gill, a transfer from Consumnes River College. "I came in prepared. I had confidence in myself, which was a big difference from earlier in the season."

UCI was outrebounded, 39-34, butTurner noted Pacific set a tone early with eight offensive rebounds by the first media timeout in the first half.

"They were able to exert their will, which was surprising to me," the Irvine coach said.

The second-seeded Tigers (22-12) matched and exceeded the Anteaters' usual defensive intensity, and were much more efficient at the other end as Thomason's Big West-record total grew to 251, earning him his fifth NCAA appearance.

"I told him before the game it's an honor to coach against him," Turner said. "The job he did this year is clearly outstanding."

Fourth-seeded UCI finished its third season under Turner at 20-15, including Friday night's 67-60 upset of regular-season champion Long Beach State.

Senior James Wilder said he'll never forget "how far we've come, since my freshman year. We had a 20-win season. We showed resiliency all year ... we just came up short tonight."

The Anteaters had shaken off poor first-half shooting to defeat the 49ers. Saturday's second-half script looked similar, as Starring scored eight early points, and a field goal by freshman Alex Young cut UCI's deficit to 40-34 with 13:35 remaining.

But not even the first tourney appearance by senior center Adam Folker could completely shake the Anteaters from their early offensive doldrums.

The two-time winner of the Big West's Best Hustle award, playing despite a leg injury, had six rebounds and two points in 12 minutes. Folker had missed UCI's previous four games, including a 70-62 loss in Stockton on March 7.

Pacific went into halftime leading, 31-20, on Gill's straightaway 3-pointer with 40 seconds left. It held large advantages in rebounding (26-15) and bench scoring (17-2) at the half.